Cat Hill

The Downtown Fiction has only been around for a year, but that year has been an eventful one. This band, consisting of Cameron Leahy, David Pavluk and Eric Jones, all call Fairfax, Va., their homes.

They released their first self-titled EP in March of 2009. That EP earned them #27 on the iTunes chart, as well as shows with bands such as All Time Low, Amely, The Dangerous Summer, The Friday Night Boys, Plain White T’s and various other punk-power-pop bands. These boys have quite the resume.

The three boys visited Japan from Oct. 7-12. This was a huge experience for them, as this was their first international gig.

Over the past few months, The Downtown Fiction has released three new songs from their newest EP, scheduled for release in 2010. Their most recent release on Oct. 5 was a song called “Take Me Home”. The introduction to this song sounds like an acoustic set, but as it progresses it picks up the pace and produces beautiful harmonies between Cameron and David.

The song released on Aug. 31, “I Just Wanna Run”, is a very fast-paced song with a more alternative feel to it. I constantly found myself nodding my head and getting absorbed in the music. The song describes how Cameron hates being treated poorly and being used. I’m sure we’ve all had those moments.

The first song released from the new EP, “Best I Never Had”, is definitely a powerhouse song. It has a heavier bass track than the other songs and it really gives a powerful feeling to it. Jones, on drums, maintains a very strong tempo through the song, which just encourages the “powerhouse” title. This song takes a different tone from their first album and it is a great change. While their EP was well-produced and had great songs, these songs can take them to an all-new level.

The Downtown Fiction has made great strides since their start in September 2008. They’ve gone from being boys who drank coffee and played music in a basement to boys who drink even more coffee and play music on stages across the country and around the globe. These boys have always dedicated their success to their fans. Which is why, even with more than 90,000 MySpace friends, they still take the time to know fans’ names and respond to almost all the comments they get.

In a question and answer session, Cameron talks about The Downtown Fiction’s fans, “You guys are really the most important part of the The Downtown Fiction family and without your guys’ support we can’t do what we do. That’s just always kinda been our motto. We love talking to you guys and whenever we get a chance we always try to, you know, hit you guys back and I can’t really express the level of appreciation we have for all the support and love that we get every day from you guys.”

I encourage you to check out their MySpace at www.myspace.com/thedowntownfiction.